UPDATE 1-Speculators shrink net long U.S. dollar bets -CFTC, Reuters

(Adds paragraphs on earnings, Swiss franc, euro, historical
data, table)
By Kate Duguid
NEW YORK, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Speculators' net long bets on
the U.S. dollar shrank in the latest week, to be slightly down
from a 22-month high hit in the prior period, according to
calculations by Reuters and the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission released on Friday.
The value of the net long dollar position was $27.64 billion
in the week ended Oct. 16, down from $27.79 billion in the
previous week.
Speculators have been net long the dollar for 18 consecutive
weeks.
U.S. dollar positioning was derived from net contracts of
International Monetary Market speculators in the yen, euro,
British pound, Swiss franc and Canadian and Australian dollars.
Long bets on the dollar fell for the first time since early
September as risk sentiment improved in the first half of the
week after upbeat Wall Street earnings turned global sentiment
away from safe-haven assets. The CFTC data measures positioning
from Tuesday to Tuesday, so the rise of the dollar index,
which measures the greenback against a basket of six rival
currencies, in the second half of the week will register in next
Friday's data.
At the start of the week, U.S. exchanges opened higher, led
by technology stocks, as earnings from blue-chip companies
helped ease jitters over the impact of an ongoing U.S.-China
trade war and other global issues on corporate profits.
The improved risk appetite was also evident in speculative
positions in the safe-haven Swiss franc. Net short
positions in the franc increased for the first time since August
to minus 16,524 from minus 12,803 the week prior.
Net short positions in the euro were the largest
since March 2017 at minus 29,344 versus minus 16,142 the week
prior. The euro was on the back foot early this week after the
Italian cabinet on Monday signed off on an expansionary 2019
budget to set up a showdown with authorities in Brussels over
compliance with EU rules.
Japanese Yen (Contracts of 12,500,000 yen)
$11.205 billion
16 Oct 2018 Prior week
week
Long 30,096 47,034
Short 130,717 162,235
Net -100,621 -115,201
EURO (Contracts of 125,000 euros)
$4.245 billion
16 Oct 2018 Prior week
week
Long 140,817 162,315
Short 170,161 178,457
Net -29,344 -16,142
POUND STERLING (Contracts of 62,500 pounds sterling)
$4.149 billion
16 Oct 2018 Prior week
week
Long 32,153 30,186
Short 82,506 90,693
Net -50,353 -60,507
SWISS FRANC (Contracts of 125,000 Swiss francs)
$2.085 billion
16 Oct 2018 Prior week
week
Long 13,505 14,990
Short 30,029 27,793
Net -16,524 -12,803
CANADIAN DOLLAR (Contracts of 100,000 Canadian dollars)
$0.852 billion
16 Oct 2018 Prior week
week
Long 32,202 38,867
Short 43,221 51,012
Net -11,019 -12,145
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR (Contracts of 100,000 Aussie dollars)
$5.104 billion
16 Oct 2018 Prior week
week
Long 19,849 25,596
Short 91,340 98,880
Net -71,491 -73,284
MEXICAN PESO (Contracts of 500,000 pesos)
$-1.829 billion
16 Oct 2018 Prior week
week
Long 127,324 126,813
Short 58,749 52,364
Net 68,575 74,449
NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR (Contracts of 100,000 New Zealand dollars)
$2.331 billion
16 Oct 2018 Prior week
week
Long 11,136 15,418
Short 46,548 49,238
Net -35,412 -33,820
(Reporting by Kate Duguid
Editing by Paul Simao and James Dalgleish)